Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actress in a Canadian film. ^[1] The award was first presented in 1968 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1969, when no eligible feature films were submitted for award consideration, and 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.

From 1980 until 2012, the award was presented as part of the Genie Awards ceremony; since 2013, it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.

From 1980 to 1983, only Canadian actresses were eligible for the award; non-Canadian actresses appearing in Canadian films were instead considered for the separate Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress. ^[2] After 1983, the latter award was discontinued, and from 1986 both Canadian and foreign actresses were eligible for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. ^[3]

In August 2022, the Academy announced that it will discontinue its past practice of presenting gendered awards for film and television actors and actresses; beginning with the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, gender-neutral awards for Best Performance will be presented, with eight nominees per category instead of five. ^[4] Lead performances are now honoured with the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Film.

1960s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
1968 20th Canadian Film Awards
	Geneviève Bujold	Isabel	[1]
1969 21st Canadian Film Awards
	No award presented this year		[1]

1970s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
1970 22nd Canadian Film Awards
	Geneviève Bujold	The Act of the Heart	[1]
1971 23rd Canadian Film Awards
	Ann Knox	The Only Thing You Know	[1]
1972 24th Canadian Film Awards
	Micheline Lanctôt	The True Nature of Bernadette (La Vraie Nature de Bernadette)	[1]
1973 25th Canadian Film Awards
	Geneviève Bujold	Kamouraska	[1]
1974
	No award presented		[1]
1975 26th Canadian Film Awards
	Margot Kidder	A Quiet Day in Belfast	[1]
1976 27th Canadian Film Awards
	Marilyn Lightstone	Lies My Father Told Me	[1]
1977 28th Canadian Film Awards
	Monique Mercure	J.A. Martin Photographer (J.A. Martin photographe)	[1]
	Jayne Eastwood	One Man	[5]
	Carole Laure	The Angel and the Woman (L'Ange et la femme)
	Hollis McLaren	Outrageous!
1978 29th Canadian Film Awards
	Helen Shaver	In Praise of Older Women	[1]
	Micheline Lanctôt	Blood and Guts	[6]
	Celine Lomez	The Silent Partner
	Andrée Pelletier	Marie-Anne

1980s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
1980 1st Genie Awards
	Kate Lynch	Meatballs	[1]
	Micheline Lanctôt	A Scream from Silence (Mourir à tue-tête)	[7]
	Louise Marleau	Heartbreak (L'arrache-cœur)
	Claire Pimparé	Yesterday
	Louise Portal	Cordélia
1981 2nd Genie Awards
	Marie Tifo	Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras)	[1]
	Geneviève Bujold	Final Assignment	[8]
	Jennifer Dale	Suzanne
	Charlotte Laurier	Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras)
	Andrée Pelletier	The Handyman (L'Homme à tout faire)
1982 3rd Genie Awards
	Margot Kidder	Heartaches	[1]
	Kim Cattrall	Ticket to Heaven	[9]
	Lesleh Donaldson	Funeral Home
	Ronalda Jones	Alligator Shoes
	Monique Spaziani	Happy Memories (Les Beaux souvenirs)
1983 4th Genie Awards
	Rae Dawn Chong	Quest for Fire	[1]
	Sara Botsford	By Design	[10]
	Hélène Loiselle	Sweet Lies and Loving Oaths (Doux aveux)
	Monique Mercure	Beyond Forty (La Quarantaine)
	Andrée Pelletier	Latitude 55°
1984 5th Genie Awards
	Martha Henry	The Wars	[1]
	Carole Laure	Maria Chapdelaine	[11]
	Barbara March	Deserters
	Marie Tifo	Lucien Brouillard
	Marie Tifo	Just a Game (Rien qu'un jeu)
1985 6th Genie Awards
	Louise Marleau	A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l'hôtel)	[1]
	Pascale Bussières	Sonatine	[12]
	Linda Griffiths	Reno and the Doc
	Isabelle Mejias	Unfinished Business
	Andrée Pelletier	Walls
	Sonja Smits	That's My Baby!
1986 7th Genie Awards
	Margaret Langrick	My American Cousin	[1]
	Charlotte Laurier	The Dame in Colour (La Dame en couleurs)	[13]
	Christine Pak	90 Days
	Monique Spaziani	The Alley Cat (Le Matou)
	Mary Steenburgen	One Magic Christmas
1987 8th Genie Awards
	Martha Henry	Dancing in the Dark	[1]
	Dorothée Berryman	The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain)	[14]
	Jackie Burroughs	John and the Missus
	Tantoo Cardinal	Loyalties
	Helen Shaver	Lost!
	Marie Tifo	Intimate Power (Pouvoir intime)
1988 9th Genie Awards
	Sheila McCarthy	I've Heard the Mermaids Singing	[1]
	Frédérique Collin	Marie in the City (Marie s'en va-t-en ville)	[15]
	Jacinta Cormier	Life Classes
	Kate Lynch	Taking Care
	Gabrielle Rose	Family Viewing
1989 10th Genie Awards
	Jackie Burroughs	A Winter Tan	[1]
	Geneviève Bujold	Dead Ringers	[16]
	Kerrie Keane	Hitting Home
	Josette Simon	Milk and Honey
	Monique Spaziani	The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes)

1990s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
1990 11th Genie Awards
	Rebecca Jenkins	Bye Bye Blues	[1]
	Colleen Dewhurst	Termini Station	[17]
	Megan Follows	Termini Station
	Margaret Langrick	Cold Comfort
	Gabrielle Rose	Speaking Parts
	Catherine Wilkening	Jesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal)
1991 12th Genie Awards
	Pascale Montpetit	H	[1]
	Alice Diabo	The Company of Strangers	[18]
	Cissy Meddings	The Company of Strangers
	Kate Nelligan	White Room
	Nina Petronzio	Vincent and Me (Vincent et moi)
1992 13th Genie Awards
	Janet Wright	Bordertown Café	[1]
	Janet-Laine Green	The Shower	[19]
	Viveca Lindfors	North of Pittsburgh
	Enrica Maria Modugno	The Saracen Woman (La Sarrasine)
	Valerie Pearson	Solitaire
1993 14th Genie Awards
	Sheila McCarthy	The Lotus Eaters	[1]
	Élise Guilbault	Cap Tourmente	[20]
	Andrée Lachapelle	Cap Tourmente
	Pauline Lapointe	La Florida
	Aloka McLean	The Lotus Eaters
1994 15th Genie Awards
	Sandra Oh	Double Happiness	[1]
	Nancy Beatty	Henry & Verlin	[21]
	Geneviève Bujold	My Friend Max (Mon amie Max)
	Valérie Kaprisky	Desire in Motion (Mouvements du désir)
	Marie Tifo	Les Pots cassés
1995 16th Genie Awards
	Helena Bonham Carter	Margaret's Museum	[1]
	Pascale Bussières	Eldorado	[22]
	Pascale Bussières	When Night Is Falling
	Pascale Montpetit	Eldorado
	Isabel Richer	Eldorado
1996 17th Genie Awards
	Martha Henry	Long Day's Journey into Night	[1]
	Marie Brassard	Polygraph (Le Polygraphe)	[23]
	Helene Clarkson	Blood and Donuts
	Brenda Fricker	Swann
	Louise Portal	Not Me! (Sous-sol)
1997 18th Genie Awards
	Molly Parker	Kissed	[1]
	Isabelle Cyr	Karmina	[24]
	Sarah Polley	The Sweet Hereafter
	Gabrielle Rose	The Sweet Hereafter
	Alberta Watson	Shoemaker
1998 19th Genie Awards
	Sandra Oh	Last Night	[1]
	Anne-Marie Cadieux	Nô	[25]
	Pascale Montpetit	Streetheart (Le Cœur au poing)
	Ginette Reno	It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux (C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux)
	Pierrette Robitaille	It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux (C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux)
1999 20th Genie Awards
	Sylvie Moreau	Post Mortem	[1]
	Elaine Cassidy	Felicia's Journey	[26]
	Jennifer Ehle	Sunshine
	Rosemary Harris	Sunshine
	Mary-Louise Parker	The Five Senses

2000s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
2000 21st Genie Awards
	Marie-Josée Croze	Maelström	[27]
	Kim Hunter	Here's to Life!	[28]
	Ginette Reno	Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux...la suite)
	Pierrette Robitaille	Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux...la suite)
	Tilda Swinton	Possible Worlds
2001 22nd Genie Awards
	Élise Guilbault	The Woman Who Drinks (La Femme qui boit)	[29]
	Jillian Fargey	Protection	[30]
	Anna Friel	The War Bride
	Sarah Polley	The Law of Enclosures
	Katja Riemann	Desire
2002 23rd Genie Awards
	Arsinée Khanjian	Ararat	[31]
	Isabelle Blais	Savage Messiah	[32]
	Molly Parker	Men With Brooms
	Deborah Kara Unger	Between Strangers
	Polly Walker	Savage Messiah
2003 24th Genie Awards
	Sarah Polley	My Life Without Me	[33]
	Rebecca Jenkins	Marion Bridge	[34]
	Micheline Lanctôt	How My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause (Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant sa ménopause)
	Molly Parker	Marion Bridge
	Karine Vanasse	Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché)
2004 25th Genie Awards
	Pascale Bussières	Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope)	[35]
	Isabelle Blais	Love and Magnets (Les Aimants)	[36]
	Céline Bonnier	Machine Gun Molly (Monica la mitraille)
	Emily Hampshire	Blood
	Jacinthe Laguë	The Five of Us (Elles étaient cinq)
2005 26th Genie Awards
	Seema Biswas	Water	[37]
	Gina Chiarelli	See Grace Fly	[38]
	Macha Grenon	Familia
	Arsinée Khanjian	Sabah
	Sylvie Moreau	Familia
2006 27th Genie Awards
	Julie Le Breton	The Rocket (Maurice Richard)	[39]
	Jodelle Ferland	Tideland	[40]
	Fatou N'Diaye	A Sunday in Kigali (Un dimanche à Kigali)
	Ginette Reno	A Family Secret (Le secret de ma mère)
	Sigourney Weaver	Snow Cake
2007 28th Genie Awards
	Julie Christie	Away from Her	[41]
	Anne-Marie Cadieux	You (Toi)	[42]
	Elliot Page [a]	The Tracey Fragments
	Molly Parker	Who Loves the Sun
	Béatrice Picard	My Aunt Aline (Ma tante Aline)
2008 29th Genie Awards
	Ellen Burstyn	The Stone Angel	[43]
	Isabelle Blais	Borderline	[44]
	Marianne Fortier	Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (Maman est chez le coiffeur)
	Susan Sarandon	Emotional Arithmetic
	Preity Zinta	Heaven on Earth
2009 30th Genie Awards
	Karine Vanasse	Polytechnique	[45]
	Madeline Ivalu	Before Tomorrow (Le Jour avant le lendemain)	[46]
	Karen LeBlanc	Nurse.Fighter.Boy
	Carinne Leduc	3 Seasons (3 saisons)
	Gabrielle Rose	Mothers & Daughters

2010s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
2010 31st Genie Awards
	Lubna Azabal	Incendies	[47]
	Tatiana Maslany	Grown Up Movie Star	[48]
	Molly Parker	Trigger
	Rosamund Pike	Barney's Version
	Tracy Wright	Trigger
2011 32nd Genie Awards
	Vanessa Paradis	Café de Flore	[49]
	Catherine De Léan	Nuit #1	[50]
	Pascale Montpetit	The Girl in the White Coat
	Rachel Weisz	The Whistleblower
	Michelle Williams	Take This Waltz
2012 1st Canadian Screen Awards
	Rachel Mwanza	War Witch (Rebelle)	[51]
	Evelyne Brochu	Inch'Allah	[52]
	Geneviève Bujold	Still Mine
	Marilyn Castonguay	L'Affaire Dumont
	Suzanne Clément	Laurence Anyways
2013 2nd Canadian Screen Awards
	Gabrielle Marion-Rivard	Gabrielle	[53]
	Cara Gee	Empire of Dirt	[54]
	Isabelle Guérard	The Storm Within (Rouge sang)
	Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs	Rhymes for Young Ghouls
	Tatiana Maslany	Cas & Dylan
2014 3rd Canadian Screen Awards
	Anne Dorval	Mommy	[55]
	Ahn Ji-hye	In Her Place	[56]
	Julianne Côté	You're Sleeping Nicole (Tu dors Nicole)
	Julianne Moore	Maps to the Stars
	Yoon Da-gyeong	In Her Place
2015 4th Canadian Screen Awards
	Brie Larson	Room	[57]
	Céline Bonnier	The Passion of Augustine (La Passion d'Augustine)	[58]
	Leah Fay Goldstein	Diamond Tongues
	Karelle Tremblay	Our Loved Ones (Les Êtres chers)
	Hadas Yaron	Felix and Meira (Félix et Meira)
2016 5th Canadian Screen Awards
	Tatiana Maslany	The Other Half	[59]
	Nathalie Doummar	Boundaries (Pays)	[60]
	Carmen Ejogo	Born to Be Blue
	Sasha K. Gordon	Natasha
	Bhreagh MacNeil	Werewolf
2017 6th Canadian Screen Awards
	Sally Hawkins	Maudie	[61]
	Denise Filiatrault	It's the Heart That Dies Last (C'est le cœur qui meurt en dernier)	[62]
	Shirley Henderson	Never Steady, Never Still
	Mahour Jabbari	Ava
	Marine Johnson	The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes)
2018 7th Canadian Screen Awards
	Émilie Bierre	A Colony (Une colonie)	[63]
	Valeria Henríquez	The Padre	[64]
	Rose-Marie Perreault	Fake Tattoos (Les faux tatouages)
	Brigitte Poupart	Les Salopes, or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin (Les salopes ou le sucre naturel de la peau)
	Carla Turcotte	Sashinka
2019 8th Canadian Screen Awards
	Nahéma Ricci	Antigone	[65]
	Deragh Campbell	Anne at 13,000 Ft.	[66]
	Violet Nelson	The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
	Kacey Rohl	White Lie
	Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers	The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open

2020s

Year	Nominee	Film	Ref
2020 9th Canadian Screen Awards
	Michelle Pfeiffer	French Exit	[67]
	Carrie Coon	The Nest	[68]
	Carmen Moore	Rustic Oracle
	Rosalie Pépin	Vacarme
	Madeleine Sims-Fewer	Violation
2021 10th Canadian Screen Awards
	Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers	Night Raiders	[69]
	Aviva Armour-Ostroff	Lune	[70]
	Alana Hawley Purvis	Range Roads
	Aliya Kanani	Scarborough
	Julia Sarah Stone	Come True

See also

• Prix Iris for Best Actress

Notes

1. Credited as Ellen Page

References

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